Carton opening device



April 11, 1961 A. J. LURI CARTON OPENING DEVICE Filed Sept. 9, 1959 INVENTOR. @a M M 44.25@ fw CARTON OPENING DEVICE August J. Lurie, 7018 W. 35th St., Berwyn, Ill.

Filed Sept. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 839,020 2 claims. (CI. 3x1- 2) This invention relates to carton opening devices and, more particularly, to a device adapted to open a carton in such |a manner as to expose the contents for easy marking and to facilitate the removal of the contents after they have been marked,

The ever-increasing use of heavy paper and corrugated board cartons in the shipment of goods in commerce is well known. This is especially true with respect to canned and packaged food. Statistics indicate that the average supermarket receives and must open between 1000 and 1500 such cartons each week. The cartons are general-ly constructed of tough, heavy paper or corrugated board and are tightly sealed with a solution of silicate of soda which imparts a hard glass-like finish to the seal. The combination of tough paper and glass-like seal makes the carton extremely difficult to `op'en, aquality which United?. ,SetePateflU is desirable for shipping purposes'but'which presents a a supermarket, without the usev of 'Sonie special opening f tool or device, takes 20 minutes to open and mark. a single carton. Furthermore, there is a manifest danger lof cuts and infection. ,Y

Many devices have been tried in an attempt to solve this problem without any marked success. -The prior art devices have been unsatisfactory for the reasons set forth in my prior Patent No. 2,128,151 for a carton opener over which the present invention is an improvement. While the carton openerfdisclosed` in my prior patent could, to a degree, satisfactorily open the carton, the goodslin the carton,` when openedg'wer'e not in a position to permit quick and' easy` marking' 'and quickand easy removal.

The improved feature of this invention over that of the prior patent is to provide a carton opener which will open the carton so as to permit ready access for marking and facilitate removal of the contents of the carton after the marking is completed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a carton opening device which may quickly and easily be assembled by the user, which is simple and economical in construction and which is sturdy and capable of long life in service.

Still another object of the invention is to provide cutting guides which can be adjusted to permit the cutting of a carton into secions of any desired size.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device such as above described which may be employed to cut upper and lower trays in the cartons to expose separate layers of goods in the carton for marking and to permit display of the goods on such trays if desired.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of 2,978,807. Patented Apr. intesi the following specification and the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of the novel cutting device embodying a preferred form of the invention;

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the cutting device showing the detailed elements;

Figure 3 is an end face view of the guides and clamping elements;

Figure 4 is a sectional View lon line 4 4 of Figure l;

Figure 5 is a detailed illustration of the bolt; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view on line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Describing the invention in detail and referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the novel carton opening device comprises a handle 10, a blade 12, the pair of unique adjustable guides 14 and 16, and a clamp assembly for clamping together the blade and guides to the handle, the clamp assembly comprising the bolt 18, the washers 20 and 22, and the thumb nut 23. These elements are assembled together as shown in the drawing, Figure 1, and described hereinafter.

The handle 10 is comprised of two mating halves 24 and 26 secured together in pivoted relationship at their lower end by rivet or the like 28. Each half is formed throughout its longitudinal length with male and female offsets 30 and 32 (Figure 6), bulges 34 and 36 and with laterally deposed flanges 38 and 40 at their upper ends. Each of the halves 24 and 26 is provided with an elongated slot 42 which are `in register with each other when the ends are aligned. 4

The blade'lZ is provided with a square hole 41 which is substantially of the same width as .the slots 42 and is positioned to coincide with the said slots. The offsets 30 and 32 form a passageway 43 in the handle when the halves are aligned, within which the blade 12 may be positioned and freely move in a longitudinal direction, the said offsets 30 Vand 32 also providing a shoulder for the blade to assist in preventing a lateral displacement thereof.

The advantages of the present invention are attained toV a large extent by reason of the adjustable guides 14 and 16. As clearly shown in Figure 2, guide 14 is substan tially U-shaped in cross section, having a saddle portion 44, offset portions 46 and 47 and wing portions 48 and 49. Thesaddle portion 44, which is formed to coincide' with the width and shape of the handle is. provided with a slot 50 preferably of the same dimensions as the slot 42, -the upper end of the saddle portion conforming in `shape tothe laterally deposed flange 40. The companion guide 16 is'provided with a shank portion 52, an offset portion 54 and a wing portion 5S. The shank portion 52 has an elongated slot 56 which preferably is of the same dimensions as slots 42 and 50 and the upper end of the shank portion conforms generally to the shape of the flange 38 so that the guide may be seated properly on the handle.

In assembling the novel carton opener device, the mating halves 24 and 26 are separated to permit the insertion of the blade 12 in the passageway 43; the halves are then aligned and the guides 14 and 16 are placed in position on the handle with the slots 50, 56, and 42 in register with the blade aperture 41. The bolt 18 is passed through washer 20 and successively through guide 14, half 26, blade 12, half 2'4, and guide 16. The washer 22 and the nut 23 are applied over the projecting end of the bolt 18 and the nut 23 is tightened to clamp the separate elements in the desired position. The bolt 18 is provided with a square shank 58 to tit within the respective slots and the square blade aperture 41 to prevent displacement of the blade or the guides when the thumb nut 24 is tightened.

The blade 12 may be adjusted in any position in the passageway 43 to conform with the thickness of the material required to be cut. When the nut 23 is loose, the blade 12 may be moved longitudinally in the passageway within the limits Aof the slot 42 so that the bladeY may be exposed any desired distance beyond the flanges 3S and 4t) as shown in Figure 1 or may be entirely concealed within the handle as shown in Figure 4. The bulges 34 and 36 are formed at the lower end of the halves 24 and 26 to afford a better hand grip and also to provide a space for storing eXtra blades if desired.

lIn operation, the guides 14 and 16 govern the manner of opening the carton. For example, using the novel opening device as it is shown in Figure l, the blade 12 is exposed to the extent required. Using the guide, the opener is then placed along the upper edge of the carton, the blade extending down along the side of the carton commensurate with the size of the guide used. The blade is then drawn along the sides of the carton, cutting the carton a distance from the top as indicated by the guide V14. The anges 38 and 40 act as depth gages and slide along the carton. The portion thus cut is removed from the carton and the upper layer of the contents is exposed and is then readily accessible for marking. If the carton has only one layer, then the same, after the marking, maybe quickly removed and placed on the shelves or even displayed and sold from the cut olf portion which is in the form of a tray but if the carton, as is generally the case,lhas two layers of goods, then the device is placed along the lower edge of the carton, the blade extending upwardly along the sides. Then the device is positioned to perform a second cutting operation and a second tray is cut from the bottom of the carton using the guides 16 leaving the center portion of the carton free. The Worker is then able, by grasping the center portion, to remove the entire upper layer of goods and deposit it in the rst tray exposing the second layer which is standing in the second tray wherein the goods may again be easily marked and easily removed, if removal is desired.

Various sizes of guides 14 and 16 may be used, depending on the size of the tray desired to be cut and while those illustrated are shown as a unitary structure and not in and of themselves adjustable, it is contemplated as being within the -scope of this invention that guides having adjusting means thereon may be used with equal facility.

It may be noted that all parts of the novel carton opening device are simple and economical to manufacture. Some of the parts, such as the handle, may be formed by stamping from sheet metal but this invention is not intended to be so limited and all parts may be formed from plastic, for example, if so desired.

While the present invention has been explained and 4 described with reference to specific embodiments of struc-v ture, it will be understood,nevertheless, that numerous modifications and variations are susceptible of being incorporated without departure from the essential spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, it is not intended for an understanding of this invention to be limited by the foregoing description nor by the illustrations in the annexed drawings, except as indicated in the hereinafter appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. A convertible carton opening device for forming trays from the bottoms and tops of cartons comprising a cutting blade having a square aperture substantially in the center thereof, a handle to carry said blade, said handle comprising a pair of mating halves, each being formed with a male and female oiset respectively to form a blade retaining passageway when the said halves are aligned each of said halves having a bulged portion at -one end,

a laterally deposed flange at the other end and a flat portion in between, an elongated slot in said at portion of each half, said slots being in register when the halvesV are aligned, directional guides mounted on said handle, one of said guides being substantially U-shaped in cross section, having a saddle portion formed to tit said handle and having offset portions on each upright of said U, the said saddle portion being provided with an elongated slot substantially similar in dimension to the slots on said handle, said guides being adapted to be used in cutting a tray from the bottom of the carton, a second directional guide mounted on the other side of said handle, adapted to be used in cutting a tray from the top of the carton, said second guide having a shank portion conforming to the width and shape of the handle, an offset Vportion and a wing portion, the said shank portion being provided with a similar elongated slot, an adjusting screw through the said slots and blade aperture for adjusting the position of the blade in said handle, the said guides being also adjustable on said handle to provide positive measuring and guiding means to cut various size trays from the top or bottom of the carton, whereby by merely turning the device to bring an appropriate guide means in position top and bottom trays maybe cut from a carton. 2. A device, as in claim 1, wherein the passageway is formed with a shoulder to provide seating means for the blade and to prevent lateral displacement thereof.

References Cited in the le of'this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,187,590 Lurie ..-'Jan. 16, 1940 2,582,677 Burnett Ian. 15, 1952 

